The present invention relates generally to the field of sign systems, specifically, supporting and tensioning flexible sheets of material in a support frame used in sign systems. In the past, it has been a very time consuming process to mount a flexible sheet of material, such as a translucent sign backing or an actual sign face, to the support frame of a sign. As a result of the added labor involved, the process has been more expensive than one would desire. This time consuming process results in part from the fact that prior sign systems have utilized mounting and tensioning systems which require many mechanical attachments in order to attach the sign face or flexible material to the frame support. As a result, it is a time consuming process to individually connect each individual fastener to the sign face or to connect each and every fastener to the support frame. Furthermore, tensioning these individual fasteners to properly mount the sign in a tensioned position is a time consuming process. A tensioned position is a critical feature in mounting a flexible sign face material as such tensioning is necessary to present a smooth face which has a pleasing visual appearance. As a result, there is a substantial need for a mounting or tensioning system that can be used by an individual to quickly and efficiently mount a sign face to a support frame.
Another aspect of prior installation systems and techniques is the fact that they have typically required a deep section of the frame or a wide frame border to hide the tensioning devices. Since the cost of these types of sign systems is directly related to the cost of the material used to produce them, a tensioning system that uses less material, such as less extruded aluminum, to make the sign is desirable. Furthermore, a system that can provide tensioning without the need for a deep body or wide frame exterior is simply desirable for the obvious reasons of permitting installation in a greater variety of locations and providing a more pleasing appearance of the sign frame. The present invention provides a solution to this problem as will be described below.
Prior mounting systems that have been utilized to mount flexible sheets of material to sign frame supports have often required that the installer have specially designed tools to complete the installation or removal of the sign from the frame support. This again is an expensive aspect of prior systems and highlights the need for a mounting and tensioning system that does not require expensive tools. Therefore, there is a need for a mounting and tensioning system that can be accomplished by hand rather than by the use of specialized tools.
Prior systems have often involved a system where the sign face or flexible sheet of material is attached to a portion of the support frame as the initial step in mounting the sign. In bad weather, in a crowded restaurant, or on a busy street, this can be quite difficult and frustrating. Therefore, there is a need for a system that allows one to quickly and easily install the sign system at the sign display itself. Specifically, there is a need for a tensioning system that can be easily installed into a pre-tensioned position on the sign support frame.
With the recent development of a new material manufactured by 3M, the PANAFLEX.TM. 600/645 GPS Series, there is now a need for a tensioning system that can properly tension this new material. This material is of a type that does not have a scrim material in the middle layer of the substrate. Consequently, it provides a pleasing appearance for close viewing; but, it also requires precise tensioning to prevent over-tensioning of the weaker substrate. Prior tensioning systems have been rough tensioning systems that are not adapted for providing this required precise tension; therefore, there is quite a need for a tensioning system that can be used with this new type of sign display material as well as other materials that are sensitive to over-tensioning.
One aspect of prior sign installation technique has been to mount the flexible material while at the sign support frame itself. This often must be accomplished near busy traffic, in the middle of a crowded store, or in bad weather. Consequently, there is a need for a mounting system that minimizes the amount of time that a laborer must spend at the support frame in addition to minimizing labor costs. Therefore, there is a need for a system that permits a quick change out of the materials when the user is at the support system itself.
It is also important that the user be able to knowingly install the sign and feel comfortable in the fact that the tensioning is being applied properly. Prior systems have not adequately indicated to a user when the user has properly mounted a tensioning spring or clip in its proper position. Therefore, a need exists for a system that will appropriately indicate to the user that the mechanical elements of the system have been properly installed and that the tensioning system has been properly applied.
One aspect of prior installation techniques has been the absence of a system that gives an audible feedback to the user to notify the user that the flexible sheet of material is being installed properly. Therefore, there is a need for a system that will tell the user as the user installs the flexible sheet of material that the user is accomplishing the installation correctly.
As noted earlier, the quick or easy switchout of a flexible sheet of material has been a problem in many past systems. Therefore, there is a need for a system that is quickly releasable from the support frame in order to accomplish a quick and easy switchout of the sign from the support frame. In past systems, it has been common to apply a translucent backing material, which could be used as a light diffuser, to the sign frame via one support system and to apply the actual signage to the support frame via a second support system. This results in added cost to the system and also results in added weight to the overall support frame. Consequently, there is a need for a system that can not only provide a tensioning of a backing material, but also that can support a sign, such as a poster or transparency film, with the same mechanism. Similarly there is a need with this system to retain the tensioned backing material while allowing an old sign to be switched out and replaced with a new sign or graphics.
Prior sign systems have utilized fasteners, springs, and mechanical clips in order to support the material installed within the sign support. Many of these systems have suffered from the fact that they can damage the sign, they are difficult to apply to the signs, or they are difficult to use to apply tension to the sign, especially uniform tension. Consequently, there is a need for new retainers that can engage flexible sheet of material without causing such damage. Furthermore, there is a need for retainers that can establish the flexible sheet of material in a tensioned position quickly and efficiently, especially a precisely tensioned position.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need in the industry for a tensioning and retaining system to be used in sign supports that will quickly, easily, and efficiently allow a user to install a flexible sheet of material to a support frame. While the earlier systems have tried to accomplish this, they have failed to provide as simple a solution as that provided by the present invention. Therefore, the present invention satisfies the long felt need for this solution. Furthermore, it highlights the fact that this solution was unseen by those of ordinary skill practicing in this art until the inventors conceived of the invention. This is highlighted by the fact that the manufacturing and labor cost issues involved in this industry have called for a simpler solution to the tensioning of flexible sheets of material without the success of the prior invention.
Naturally, further objects of the invention are disclosed throughout other areas of the specification and claims.